


Friends

by Tarlan



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-06-02
Updated: 2004-06-02
Packaged: 2017-10-20 01:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/207342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vin has a head injury, and he and Chris are ambushed on their way back to seek help from Nathan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends

**Author's Note:**

> For a challenge, someone wrote part of the opening scene and wanted to see it expanded on... My response starts from *******

Chris Larabee lay face down in the hot New Mexico sand. His black shirt was shiny wet and he lay absolutely still. Kneeling beside him was Vin Tanner looking in horror at his blood covered hands. Voices drifted past him unnoticed.

"Is he dead?"

"If he ain't he will be soon. You want I should kill the tracker too?"

"Nay, he ain't been right in the head the whole time I been watching them. They'll both be dead before anyone finds them."

*******

The two men laughed harshly but the sound washed over Vin, touching the raw wound in his soul but the rage seething deep inside could not find an outlet from his damaged mind. He knew the man lying on the ground before him was a friend, closer than any brother, and he knew that friend had been looking out for him -- until this happened.

But what _had_ happened?

The sound of horses' hooves receding into the distance went unnoticed as Vin concentrated hard on the events leading to this moment. There had been a fight in a saloon. Isn't that what his friend had said?

_You got hit with a chair. Broke over that thick skull of yours, but you're going to be all right, Vin. Soon as we get you back to Nathan._

Nathan? Should he know this Nathan?

Images of a bright smile on a dark-skinned face clawed at the edges of his mind, trying to find a firm grip but the image slowly faded. He tried to grab for the tendrils as they slithered away but then they were gone.

Did it matter though? Did it matter that he had no real memory of this Nathan... just a feeling that this was a good man... like the one lying before him.

"Chris?"

He stuttered over the word; his mouth dry, tongue swollen from fear, thirst and confusion. He knew it was the first word he'd spoken in a while, and his voice sounded hoarse and gritty.

Water. He needed water. Did Chris need water too?

He looked up as a new sound penetrated the fog in his mind and frowned as Chris's black gelding slowly ambled towards them, stopping only to crop at thorny bushes and relieve them of any tender leaves. He had no idea what had happened to the other horse for both had bolted at the sound of gun fire.

Gun fire?

Gun.

Bullet.

Shot.

Chris had been shot... in the back.

_You don't shoot nobody in the back._

Why did they shoot him in the back? Who were they?

_Got to stop the bleeding... lost a lot of blood._

Memories of a smooth, mellow voice rolled over him. Memories of caring, of tenderness... of a big smile from a man who ought to have hated pale-skinned men because of the way they'd treated him.

Healer. The man could heal Chris.

"Got to get you to Nathan."

_Got to stop the bleeding... lost a lot of blood._

"Stop the bleeding."

Vin frowned anew and then recalled seeing Chris stuffing a shirt into his saddlebags just before they left the town. He could use it to stop the bleeding. He slowly rose to his feet and lurched towards the horse. It gave him a wild-eyed stare, hooves beating the ground fearfully as it backed away from him, and Vin realised he'd have to take it slow or the horse would bolt again, and this time it might not come back.

"Easy, Girl. Easy."

He stretched out a hand, slowly moving towards the skittish horse and sighing in relief when his fingers closed around the leather of the rein. He went to rub her nose but she reared away, and he knew it had to be the scent of the blood covering his hands that frightened her.

He led her close to the scraggy bush where Chris lay unmoving, and tied the rein without thinking; going through the motions without conscious thought. He found the shirt in the saddlebag just as he recalled, and he took it over to Chris, dropping down beside the still body.

"Got to stop the bleeding..."

Vin pressed the shirt hard against the wound, and was rewarded by a weak groan from the dark-clad man. There had to be something around there that he could use to keep the shirt pressed against the wound... and then he recalled the striped poncho. Vin felt a moment's hesitation before he took out his hunting knife and sliced through the garment, recalling a deep, baritone voice.

Josiah?

Josiah had given this poncho to Chris... but Vin knew, deep inside, that Josiah wouldn't be angry that he'd sliced it up. He pulled Chris into a seated position, his back resting against a rock, and he began to wrap the poncho around Chris's upper body to hold the makeshift bandage in place.

"Got to get you to Nathan."

It took all of Vin's strength to get Chris onto his horse, and then he mounted up behind him, holding Chris tight against his chest. He tugged on the rein to set the horse back in the direction they'd been traveling before the sharp retort of a rifle had brought Chris down. Another groan fell from pale lips as Vin urged the gelding into a canter.

Vin had no recollection of time as his thoughts twisted and turned almost uselessly inside his head. Images came to him and then disappeared just as fast, but the impressions remained leaving him with a sense of security. Up ahead there would be friends... more than just this Nathan and Josiah. He knew it to the depths of his soul.

"Vin?"

A weak voice croaked out from in front of him.

"Got to get you to Nathan."

A dust cloud on the trail ahead caught his attention, and he reined to a halt, confused as to what he ought to do... and then it was too late as the riders were upon him.

"Vin!"

There was no big, white-toothed smile on the dark man's face but Vin _knew_ this was Nathan. He saw the big man leap down from his horse and reach for Chris, and knew it was safe to let his friend go.

"Mr. Tanner? Are you, perchance, injured?"

The soft southern accent brought back a stirring of memory, of playing cards while surrounded by the warmth of friendship. He saw Chris seated at the same table, nursing a whiskey and keeping his cards close... and every once in a while a devil-may-care smile would slip out in response to some comment from... from... Ezra.

Bright hazel eyes in a young face watched him with concern before they were drawn back to Chris. Another taller man with a mustache knelt down beside Chris, his blue eyes filled with concern, and when he looked up, Vin realised he knew those eyes so well... though rarely were they filled with anger and fear.

"What the hell happened, Vin?" The man asked.

Vin looked around at the faces of these _almost_ strangers, feeling momentary panic that faded at the gravel soft voice coming from Chris.

"Vin? Where's Vin?... He's hurt, Nathan. Need you to--"

"Vin's here, Chris."

Dark eyes showed confusion as they alighted on the blue eyes of an older, large man. Vin watched as the older man walked towards him, large hands reaching out to grip the reins of Chris's horse. However, Vin had seen those large hands touching Chris with such gentleness just now, and though he 'knew' those hands could squeeze the life out of a person, he also knew that he was safe in those hands.

A name came tumbling through the fog in his mind.

"Josiah?"

"You hurt, Vin?"

Vin reached up, subconsciously, towards the back of his head, wincing as his fingers found the source of his pounding headache; a lump as large as a hen's egg. It didn't seem important, though. Not as important as the dark-clad man being tended to by Nathan... his friend... his best friend.

"Can't do much more for him out here. Need to get back to town."

Vin watched as the tall one mounted up and felt a flash of resentment as Chris was boosted up into the man's arms. Then he felt guilty as the others closed around him, keeping him protected between them as they set off at a brisk pace.

They reached a town just before nightfall and Vin knew, some how, that he was home. He felt surprisingly weak as he slipped from Chris's horse, unsure who led the gelding away though he thought it might have been the Kid.

The world seemed to swirl around him; the ground coming up to meet him... and then nothing.

~~~~

Chris bit back a cry of pain as he wriggled up in the bed... but he hated lying flat on his back; it made him feel too vulnerable. He rolled his bandaged shoulder, and hissed in pain as the movement set off a burning sensation that radiated through his upper chest and arm.

"Damn."

"Now I told you not to do nothing sudden."

Chris ignored the well-intentioned rebuke, knowing it came out of friendship and caring. Instead, he looked passed Nathan to the cot one of the others had brought into the small room that compromised Nathan's clinic and living space.

In a flash, his memory swept back to the previous evening when he and Vin had got caught up in a fight with a bunch of trail herders passing through Eagle Bend. The cowboys had taken offense when he interceded on behalf of a working girl being rough handled by one of the drunken men. However, Chris had been forced to end the brawl with a well placed shot when one of the cowboys decided to draw a gun on Vin Tanner.

Vin had taken a bad blow to the back of the head with a chair, leaving him lying stunned and defenseless on the saloon floor. There hadn't been time to consider winging the man... least not at the angle he'd been given... so he fired, sending that bullet straight through the man's heart.

The sheriff had exonerated him, having witnessed the entire incident, but the dead cowboy's friends were not so willing to let it go. With only half a day's ride to the town they protected, Chris thought it better that they left right away, especially as the sheriff had made it pretty clear that he wanted them out of his town as soon as possible. It was only when he tried to get Vin moving that he realised something was wrong.

Vin had been glassy-eyed and listless, barely understanding what Chris was saying to him so Chris had been forced to saddle up both of their horses and help the other man up onto his. It wasn't hard to miss the sticky blood in Vin's hair at the back, and Chris hoped that he wouldn't be aggravating Vin's injuries by forcing him to ride.

For the next two hours he'd kept up a chatter that was completely out of character for him, but Vin seemed unresponsive, often sliding or slumping in his saddle.

_You're gonna be all right, Vin. Soon as we get you back to Nathan._

How often had he said those words to Vin during those hours? He knew they had been as much for his benefit as for Vin's, pinning all his hopes on the gentle healer's skills.

The echo of the gunshot continued to sound long after the pain wrenched him from the saddle of his horse. He could recall tumbling, with everything seeming to happen in slow motion. He saw Vin's horse rearing, throwing the barely aware man from its back before bolting off after his horse.

Chris recognized the voices of the men from the saloon earlier, and knew it was two of the trail hands taking revenge for the man he'd killed. As he lay with his face in the dusty ground, too shocked to feel the pain from Vin's hands on his wounded back, he gave silent thanks as they decided to let the desert finish them both off. Even so, his heart thumped fearfully in his chest as he'd heard their horses gallop away, afraid of hearing the sound of another gunshot and then feeling the weight of Vin's murdered body falling across him.

The gunshot had not come, and he felt hope surge within him as he heard Vin call his name, praying that Vin was finally coming out of his stupor. He groaned as he was eased up and his bullet wound bandaged, unable to hold back further groans of pain as Vin fought to get him back into the saddle.

He had drifted in and out of consciousness as Vin turned them towards home, only fear for Vin's well-being preventing him from relaxing in the protecting arms of his friend.

According to Buck, Vin's horse arriving in the town without its rider had alerted the others to their predicament, and Chris had been more than grateful to find himself under Nathan's gentle ministrations. Still, his fear for Vin had persisted, and he croaked out his fear knowing that the others would then ensure Vin's safety, leaving him to settle back into the arms of an older friend for the final part of their journey back to town.

"How's Vin?"

"Got a lump the size of a goose egg on the back of his head. Been dazed... coming in and out. Blows to the head can be dangerous. Known of men falling asleep and never waking again... so I've been waking him every few hours just to make sure he's still with us."

"He didn't seem to know me, or anyone else. Couldn't get a sound out of him before..." Chris groaned, screwing his eyes up against the pain in his back and shoulder. "Least he knew who I was after I got shot."

Nathan grinned.

"Temporary memory loss, but it tends to all come back after a day or so... maybe more." Nathan brought a tin mug over to the bed. "Here. Drink this. One of my teas laced with a little Laudanum. Should help with the pain."

Chris sipped at the foul brew, grimacing at the obnoxious taste, but he drank it all anyway, trusting in Nathan and his healing abilities. All too soon he felt the world misting around him, and he yawned. He moaned softly as Nathan settled him more comfortably on the bed.

"Rest now, Chris. We got your back."

Chris drifted off to sleep with a small smile curving his lips, safe in the knowledge that he had five special friends watching over him and Vin.

THE END


End file.
